Michelle Dean on the Game of Women’s Memoir, Life Advice From J. Robert Lennon, and More

Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—from publishing reports to academic announcements to literary dispatches—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories:

“Accusations of silliness (and its close cousin, sluttiness) have plagued just about every woman writer you can think of.” Michelle Dean takes a detailed look at the game of women's memoir. (New York)

Playwright and outspoken author David Mamet has joined the ranks of the self-published. (New York Times)

Meanwhile, Digital Book World answers some key points about self-publishing made by the New York Times.

Author George Orwell's birthplace in India will be turned into a public memorial—to Gandhi. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Paisley Rekdal comes to the defense of the poetry workshop. (Harriet)

On Graywolf's blog, novelist J. Robert Lennon dispenses advice for the literary-minded and lovelorn alike: “If you feel like a failure, then, congratulations! You feel like a writer.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Stephen Dunn played college basketball for Hofstra University, and tells NPR what commonalities basketball and poetry share.

Henry Review features NPR correspondent Scott Simon reading his new novel Pretty Birds.

Tomorrow is Poem in Your Pocket Day!